Voters in Missouri made history yesterday when they elected a dead man to represent them in the Senate.

Mel Carnahan, the popular Democratic candidate who died in a plane crash last month, won 50% of the state's vote in one of the strangest electoral contests ever held in America.

Mr Carnahan's name was kept on the ballot paper as he died too late to be removed. Local party officials chose his widow, Jean, to take his place in the event of a victory, which eventually came in the early hours of Wednesday morning after a controversial count.

The closeness of the race combined with continuing questions about the legality of electing a dead man was expected to prompt an official appeal from the Republicans.

Jean Carnahan compared her husband to other leaders who were cut down in their prime when she finally made an acceptance speech after a tense, emotional night.

"Lincoln never saw his nation made whole again," she said. "Martin Luther King never finished his mountaintop journey. My husband's journey was cut short too. And, for reasons we don't understand, the mantle has now fallen upon us." Mrs Carnahan is to sit for two years rather than the usual six because of the unusual nature of the election. Using a favourite phrase of her husband's that was a campaign rallying cry after his death, she thanked her husband's supporters for "keeping the flame alive".

John Ashcroft, the sitting senator and twice governor in the state, won 49% of the vote.

Any appeal against the decision could focus on the fact that candidates have to "inhabit" a state to be elected under the constitution.

However, Republican officials were yesterday suggesting they could appeal against a further oddity.

A state circuit judge decided to keep booths open for several hours longer than expected in St Louis on Tuesday after the high turnout led to huge queues. The appeal court later closed the polls but not before they had been open for an extra 45 minutes.